THE AMERICAN APIGULTURIST. 



125 



crcnted for it, niiiy prodiably be scut to 

 tlie retailer wlioin yoii are iiltout to visit. 

 Ur;j;e upon liim liie necessity of iiiiikin^- fi 

 lusty (iisplay of it. wiien It nriivcs. Asiv 

 liiin how many of Ills ciisloiners would in- 

 (jnire for candy wcrcr it, placed in boxes 

 uiidertlie counter instead of in a neat j.dass 

 showcase, and then make tlie nec(!ssary 

 coinparisoti. An attractive display under 

 ^iass or a pyraniiil of fancy honey in pa- 

 per boxes, surmounted wilii a jilass jar of 

 Mnest " ricldy-llavored, cryHtal" lioney, 

 slionid (liid plenty of buyers in nearly ev- 

 C'i\v j^rocery in tin; land. 



Tlie retailer always has been and we 

 hope always will be a necessary adjunct 

 to every couimunity, i)ut the middle man 

 is not. 



The system of peddlinji honey from 

 house to house, althou.nh it may succeed 

 witlj some men and in some locations, it 

 seems to me is not practical for all yi'ars 

 and all men. True, not all men will suc- 

 ceed with the m<'tliod I have above out- 

 lined, but if one-half or one-fourth of 

 tlie producers of honey would only try 

 it, what a revolutiotj in the Iioney markets 

 would ensue. Those most successful 

 would, like Mr. IJaldridjre of Illinois, con- 

 tinue to sell, and, by takin^i the crops of 

 their friends, create anotlK^r class of mid- 

 dle men with totally dilferent aims and 

 nietliods from those now employed by oiii- 

 softsoapin;;, flattering, cheating, skinning 

 mid(ll(! men. 



Larrabee's Point, Vt. 



NUiMBKE FOUR. 



Z. T. [fAWK. 



It needs no elaborate arguments to 

 prove that to the beekeepcir the honey 

 imirk(!t is of the greatest importance. In 

 fact, the uncertainty of the; market is the 

 one bar to tin; est.ibli-hment of b(!eke('p- 

 ing as an independ<nt pursuit. Iioney is 

 not a staple — it must be classed with the 

 luxuries; and a heavy crop or hard times 

 with those who are the usual customers 

 invariably have ;i depressing influence on 

 the market. When low prices are the re- 

 sult of an abundant crop, it is not often 

 that the apiarist is the; Ioscm*; but when a 

 light crop and hai'd times go together, as 

 in many localities during the last year, 

 IIkmi may the producer of honey sigh for 

 the time when his product shall be a sta- 

 ple article of fooil. 



I regard the home market as of the ut- 

 most importance to the apiarist, but it is 



so susceptible to adverse infbmnces that it 

 must be nursed with the tenderest care. 

 A few tubfuls of broken comb honey 

 plac(!d in th(! local nnirkets with which I 

 am best acquainted, at a low price, by a 

 few uii|)osted farmers will demoralize the 

 sales lor a year, ami the (liiest cond) in 

 sections or extracted in attractive pack- 

 age's may go begging or else Ix; sol<l at a 

 loss. In such a case, I know of only one 

 way for the heavy j)roducer to protect 

 himself. He must turn buyer himself, 

 and in the meantime do all \n'. can to en- 

 lighten till! small protlucers as to the best 

 method of placing tlxdr honey on th<' mar- 

 ket and as to its value when once placed 

 there. 



That the attractiveness of the package 

 has much to do with the price nsalized for 

 lii)n(;y cannot b(! doubtcjd for a monufnt. 

 Oidy this week some extracted honey was 

 j)lac(Mi in th(! grocery stor<!s of this town 

 in Mason fruit-Jai's. On some of the Jars 

 Writt(!U labels announce that the contcmts 

 are "strained Iioney," and wluiU on(! picks 

 up a jar thi; honey on the oulsidi! at once 

 glues his lingers fast. A few dusty days 

 will very materially injure the sale as it 

 ought. I have no doul)t the honey is a 

 fair article of extracted, but the i)roduc- 

 er's ignorance of the effect f)f that fat^al 

 word " strained," his carelessness in pre- 

 pai'iiig his honey foi" sabr, and his mistaken 

 economy in not placing an attractive la- 

 b(!l on every jar certaiidy do not tend to 

 improve the local markctt. lliave had no 

 experience in selling extracted honey, 

 but I believe that what influences ni<! as 

 a customer influences many others; and 1 

 know that I have not the couragi! to buy 

 dirty, dauby packag<;s <d <iiui prirc ()f 

 course the beekee])er will 'produce; his 

 honey in the shape most (lemande<l by his 

 juarket; but if lie produces comb honey 

 let it be in sections if he can possibly |)re- 

 vail upon his market to accept it in that 

 form. Hut a s(!Ction ofl'erc-d for sale with 

 tlie propolis still adhering is an abomina- 

 tion. The wood should be vvliil,(; and 

 clean, and that super is the; best that per- 

 mits the bees to store honey with the 

 minimum of propolis and travel-stain on 

 the outside of tlie sections. In this re- 

 spect, I regard very favorably the Hay 

 Stale sectifjii case as placed on the market 

 by th(! editor of the AiMCi'i/ruiasr, Dr. 

 Tinker's new clamp-super and Mr. Med- 

 doii's ii(!W case. My preference is decid- 

 edly in favor of the fcjur-jjiece white |)op- 

 lar section, be<;-piissages on all four sides. 

 \ showcase full of these sections nicedy 

 fliled, all i^ropolis removed and no honey 

 dripping down, the combs are an Irresist- 

 ible attraction in any mark<!t. When a 

 snmli retailing case is used, it should 



